Hi all- I bought a kitchen from IKEA and they told me that I had an issue with the hot water availability in the kitchen (or something like that, I'm not sure). They said that I need to get something extra (didn't understand what, their English was pretty bad). I told my landlord and he bought this water heater in the picture- told me that whoever installs the kitchen needs to install it- said the connection needs to go with the sink, dishwasher, etc.

The kitchen will be built tomorrow and the contractor (who got the mandate from IKEA, I assume) called me and told me that this cannot be done by them "officially", that IKEA does not do this. But he would do it for me "unofficially"- as this heater should legally be installed only by "someone with more certifications, because water and electricity cannot be mixed".

It sounded like he was asking for more money under the table to install this. I don't know anything about this, I'm so confused. Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced this?



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colossus_romanus

10 comments

  2. > told me that whoever installs the kitchen needs to install it

    lol

    > The kitchen will be built tomorrow and the contractor (who got the mandate from IKEA, I assume) called me and told me that this cannot be done by them “officially”, that IKEA does not do this.

    That is correct, IKEA / the contractor does not install boilers / heaters for you when you ordered a kitchen. Like you paid IKEA to get a kitchen and IKEA paid the contractor to install the kitchen, not to install a random boiler / heater you got from your landlord.

  3. It should be installed by a certified plumber. Otherwise, if anything happens, e.g., a leakage, the insurance can to deny any compensation.

  4. If your apartment doesn’t have a shared water heating system, then you’ll need a water broiler or electric heater.

    It’s something that they’ll have to install, unless you don’t want warm water.

  5. In general IKEA hast not assigned this kind of task to their subcontractor. Therefore he is anyhow not allowed to install under mandate from IKEA. From my perpective he is doing a favour but wants to be paid. Of course this means you also dont have warranty as I guess he will not provide an invoice.

    Ask your landlord to cover the cost.

  6. That’s a Durchlauferhitzer, I assume you don’t have a how water Connection in the kitchen so this is a good solution.

    I assume that the contractor cannot install it because it’s not part of your order from IKEA. Possibly a liability issue.

    And maybe this should be installed by a certified electrician and/or plumber. This could be relevant for insurance in case of water leakage.

    So he’s offering to do it for money under the table so you can’t sue him in case something goes wrong in any way.

  7. He‘s not trying to scam you. He will do the job, you‘ll pay cash for the extra service this is quite normal, but you won’t get a receipt. With Ikea it might also happen that some small parts are missing which you‘ll be offered to buy from the contractor (we had this issue with our kitchen) this service is also advertised on the official website.
    I would get a different contractor to install the heater, who is willing to do the work officially, so that the contractor is liable if something goes wrong

  8. > But he would do it for me “unofficially”- as this heater should legally be installed only by “someone with more certifications, because water and electricity cannot be mixed”.

    >It sounded like he was asking for more money under the table to install this. I don’t know anything about this, I’m so confused. Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced this?

    He is right, you know… technically, you are not even allowed to change a light switch, since it’s an electrical installation. So, if water damage occurs because of an improper installation, then your insurance will likely refuse to pay because you won’t have an official invoice or a certificate of installation from a licensed professional.

    The contractor is likely telling the truth about the legal side. In many places, IKEA installers are only authorized for standard assembly. For a water heater (especially if it is a low-pressure system), you technically need a specialized technician. By offering to do it “unofficially,” he is trying to bypass the bureaucracy and the liability. If you pay him “under the table,” you save time now, but you carry 100% of the risk if your kitchen floods or an electrical fire starts later

  9. I think it’s okay.
    It is a small 5liter hot water boiler to install under the sink.

    It’s very common here in germany.

    You’ll need a special tap for it with three pipes. A “Niederdruckarmatur” a low pressure tap.

  10. The guy building the kitchen is not an electrician, he can’t install it. He will do it for some cash. That’s pretty normal for these kind of people.

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